


soft place to land

by ShyAudacity



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Archie Andrews Needs a Hug, Episode: s02e09 Silent Night Deadly Night, Friendship/Love, Hurt Archie Andrews, Hurt/Comfort, Jughead Jones is a Good Friend, Mentioned Veronica Lodge, Missing Scene, Multi, Protective Jughead Jones, Queerplatonic Relationships, Shock, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 07:30:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14232348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyAudacity/pseuds/ShyAudacity
Summary: Even after the mask has been ripped off, Archie still finds himself staring at the body, staring at the hand that’s missing a finger. Sheriff Keller walks over at some point, takes the gun away from him. Next, Betty hugs him tight, he thinks she might be crying again. Archie has to remind himself how to make his arms work. It kind of feels like someone else is in control of his body.Archie is so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn’t even realize Betty has been trying to talk to him until she puts her hands on his face.“Arch, you’re shaking.”ORA missing scene from 2x09 "Silent Night, Deadly Night"





	soft place to land

**Author's Note:**

> I told myself I wasn't going to post a new fic this month bc it's National Poetry Month but then this happened. Oh well.
> 
> Unbeta'd and title from the song from Waitress the musical.

“You tried to kill my father and my friends. You’re gonna pay for your crimes. You are not escaping, this ends tonight… I said stop!”

A shot goes off less than a second before Archie can pull the trigger and it makes his ears ring. His face falls as he watches the black hood collapse onto the ground. The next thing he knows, Sheriff Keller is coming towards them, yelling:

“Archie put the gun down! It’s okay.”

Even after the mask has been ripped off, Archie still finds himself staring at the body, staring at the hand that’s missing a finger. Sheriff Keller walks over at some point, takes the gun away from him. Next, Betty hugs him tight, he thinks she might be crying again. Archie has to remind himself how to make his arms work. It kind of feels like someone else is in control of his body.

Archie is so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn’t even realize Betty has been trying to talk to him until she puts her hands on his face.

“Arch, you’re shaking.”

She’s right. His hands- scratch that, his whole body has been trembling since he had to get into that coffin. Since the Black Hood nearly made Betty bury him alive. It’s going to take a while for him to feel okay after that.

Archie puts his head between his knees after Betty coerces him into sitting down. He feels like the whole world is spinning around him, like some rogue roller coaster that’s grown a mind of his own and he just wants to get off. He thinks that he’s going into shock. Yeah, that’s it, that’s why he can’t feel his hands anymore.

“Arch, look,” Betty says.

Archie lifts his head just enough to see a familiar pair of tattered jeans coming towards them. He nearly shudders when Jughead’s calloused fingers grip the back of his neck, sags a little when they begin to scratch at his hair.

Archie glances over at Jughead, he looks into those blue eyes that have been staring back at him for years. It puts him at ease knowing that his best friend is here, makes Archie feel like he can breathe again.

_I don’t know what I’d do without you around._

He curls his hand around Jughead’s knee, then pitches forward into his lap, only somewhat gracefully. Jughead squeezes back- _thank god_ \- then wraps his arm around Archie’s lower back, pulling him as close as he can. Betty is still there, holding Archie’s free hand with both of her own and pressing her face into Jughead’s shoulder, trying to help in any way she can.  

This whole night has been a mess for all of them, mostly in ways that they can’t begin to explain or make sense of. Since when did their lives turn into such a shit show? Is being a teenager this exhausting for everyone?

Eventually, Archie starts to come back to himself. It’s then that he realizes that Jughead has been talking to him this entire time, speaking quietly in his ear.

“I’m here… We’re okay. No one is going anywhere. It’s all over.”

_It’s over… so why doesn’t it feel that way?_

Soon, the three of them are going to get up and brush themselves off. They’ll call Veronica, ask her to meet them at Pop’s, and Archie and Betty will explain why both of them are covered in dirt. Before any of them go home for the night, Archie will hug them tightly, grateful that he hasn’t lost anyone else in this mess.  

That night, Archie will lie awake for hours, wanting to sleep, but instead he’ll be thinking about a certain pair of green eyes that can’t seem to just leave him be.

**Author's Note:**

> I never used to write short fics like this until recently. Anyways. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! If you liked it then please leave a kudos/comment, they make me want to write more. Thanks again for reading, have a great day!


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